EEOC won’t pay legal costs until case runs its course

There’s no collecting attorneys’ fees from the EEOC in mid-litigation. A court said that it must wait until a case ends.

Recent case: The EEOC sued U.S. Steel and several other entities, alleging they wrongly forced medical examinations on disabled employees without a job-related reason that was consistent with business necessity.

U.S. Steel countered that the claim was frivolous and had been omitted from earlier EEOC conciliation efforts. In effect, it argued that it had been surprised at the charges, never had a chance to settle them in conciliation and now had to endure long and expensive litigation. It wanted the EEOC to pay almost $100,000 in legal fees and costs.

The court said it was too early to consider whether the employer was due the money. (EEOC v. U.S. Steel, et al., No. 10-1284, WD PA, 2012)